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Anyone can now explore Canada’s remote Sable Island, thanks to Google

With just a few clicks, curious people can explore the inaccessible island’s windswept sand dunes and vast coastline.

Parts of Sable island, the crescent-shaped island located about 290 km southeast of Halifax, can now be seen on Google Street View. (Parks Canada photo)

Danielle Hickey of Parks Canada said Sable Island isn’t the first national park to appear on Google Street View, but said its addition is especially unique and exciting because it is largely inaccessible to the general public. (Parks Canada)

By The Canadian Press

Thu., July 14, 2016

HALIFAX—Whether they’re at a desk or on the couch, anyone with an interest in visiting the windswept dunes of Nova Scotia’s remote Sable Island can now do so without getting sand in their shoes.

Parts of the crescent-shaped island, situated roughly 290 kilometres southeast of Halifax, can now be seen on Google Street View.

From Google Maps, one click triggers a dizzying switch from the generic blue and green shapes of the map to crisp, 360-degree photographic images. Dozens of seals can be seen lounging in the white sand and blue surf on the expansive shoreline, and horses nibble on sparse grass among the shifting sand dunes.

Seals can be spotted in the surf while navigating your way around the island. (Google Maps)

An onscreen ‘x’ guides the user through a short “stroll” around a portion of the island’s midsection, with breathtaking views in all directions — but especially out over the Atlantic.

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Danielle Hickey of Parks Canada said the 42-kilometre long, 1.5-kilometre wide island isn’t the first national park to appear on Google Street View, but she said its addition is especially unique and exciting because it is largely inaccessible to the general public.

“This seemed like a wonderful opportunity to allow people to connect to this very remote and also very special place,” said Hickey in a phone interview on Thursday.

The 42-kilometre long, 1.5-kilometre wide island is the latest national park to appear on Google Street View.
(Google Maps)

“They’ll see the beach, the Sable Island horses, seals, the Bald Dune — which is a 90-foot high sand dune. It gives these incredible vistas and a full view out to the sea.”

Hickey said Parks Canada has been working with Google since 2013 to capture Canadian sites with Google Street View technology.

Other such places that can be explored on street view include Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Forillon National Park in Quebec and the Pingo Canadian Landmark in Northwest Territories.

“It’s a great way to help Canadians connect to our country’s majestic protected areas,” said Hickey.

To document Sable Island, a Parks Canada employee was trained to use the Google Trekker, a backpack with a camera system on top.

Google Street View lets you zoom in on objects to get a closer look. (Google Maps)

The Trekker essentially did a loop of a section of the island, beginning at the south beach and making its way up to the north shore before passing freshwater ponds on its way back to the south shoreline.

“So when people go online, they can basically follow a path,” said Hickey, adding that it happened to be a beautiful sunny day for the Trekker’s visit to the island, once dubbed the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

More than 350 vessels have been wrecked due to the rough seas, fog and submerged sandbars surrounding Sable Island.

It was once inhabited by life-saving crews who rescued and recovered ship wrecks during the mid-19th to mid-20th century.

Evidence of those early occupants — everything from pots, pans and toiletries to stoves, bathtubs and horseshoes — are sprinkled around the island and archeologists have been working to survey and document those artifacts in recent years.

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